A most opportune find!

For the last couple of months I've been thinking about how I would love to get a carpet sweeper, just to pick up obvious bits of mess without the arduous task of dragging out the vaccuum cleaner. I had decided that it was highly unlikely I would find a carpet sweeper at the oppy and that ebay was probably going to be my best bet. I haven't even checked ebay yet, but just look at what I stumbled across at my local oppy this week ...
... a gorgeous red Sabco "Whisk Away" complete with white wooden handle!

Other finds this week are these two beautiful crochet blankets.

I found these for only $3 each in the dog blanket box. I never understand why they put perfectly good blankets in the dog blankets box.

Actually these aren't "perfectly good". They both need a really, really good wash and a bit of TLC. One has blobs of melted wax all over it.
Hopefully I can get it out. Shannon Lush tells me I should be able to. And the other blanket has a dirty great hole in it.

So all you crocheters out there, tell me, is this hole repairable? I'm assuming all 3 rows of grey will need to be pulled out and replaced??? I can't crochet, but I'm hoping I'll learn one day ... or maybe I can get Mum to help me fix it!

Kiera is pretty happy with my finds this week!

I also picked up some great fabric (read pillowcases, tablecloths, and an apron) from a couple of op shops in Violet Town and Beechworth over the weekend.

I also found this beautiful cotton tea towel.

And this very cute linen pot holder with a 1977 calendar printed on it.

Pop over to Sophie's for more great finds!

Our Holiday

We recently spent 5 days in Callignee at Mum and Dad’s and we all had a great holiday. (This is going to be another one of those long photographic blog entries!)

We had a few very hot days watching beautiful fluffy clouds..

And we spent most of our time out in the cool shade of the paulownia tree which has flourished since the bushfire… There was lots of water play (Mum and Dad have a spring fed dam so no water restrictions were breached)…
There was some pegging fun…
Lots of laughing at “silly grandad”!
Moments spent watching Maya learn to roll (and at only 16 weeks!)… Note the quilt she is lying on – one of Mum’s many beautiful handmade quilts.

There was some climbing up charcoal trees…
And falling down charcoal trees… ouch!
Followed by some sprinkler fun to wash off charcoal…
Sean helped Dad put the roof on the woodshed…
And Dad spent some time staring at his new shed (a bit like the in colourbond ad) … Although the woodshed is not quite complete, it’s a big milestone for Dad to have that done. But there is still plenty of other work to be done.

Khye enjoyed our picnics for afternoon tea every day – particularly when they involved biscuits…
Kiera had stacks of fun running around finding sticks…
We saw some great light shows. First was the neighbours garden filled with Christmas lights… Apparently they won the best Christmas lights in Callignee – not too much competition this year with most residents still rebuilding after the bushfire.

And on New Years Eve we were treated to this fantastic “nature’s light show”…

I managed to catch a lightning bolt!

And yes this is lightning!

New Years Day we went for a drive up the road to Tarra Bulga National Park – one of the last remaining temperate rainforests in Australia. The bushfire just missed the Park, so it is a lush green oasis after being surrounded by the devastation of the fires.
There are many pine plantations on the road up to Tarra Bulga which were not so lucky and burnt in the fires, and unlike native vegetation, pines do not regenerate. But the native trees around Callignee have now well and truly sprouted and are looking really fluffy dominating the bush once again with green…

So how were your holidays? What did you do?

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and hope that you had lots of fun too!

Sewing Machine Update …

Well my sewing machine can’t be repaired. The man thought it was a component in the electronic panel but it still didn’t work after he replaced it. The whole panel itself needs replacing. Husqvarna don’t make them anymore and even if they did it wouldn’t be worth fixing the machine. Second hand panels are rare apparently and even if you did find one there’s no guarantee that its going to work or for how long. My poor old machine.

But I have bought a new machine! Well it’s an old second hand Singer. It has been well looked after and it sews very well.

Yesterday I sewed up a pile of elephants outside in the sunshine.

It was a beautiful spring day. The buds have well and truly burst on the grape vines.

Khye and I also took Kiera the dog for a walk to the park and we threw the ball for her to chase. Khye had great fun watching her, laughing and clapping!

Don’t forget the Gisborne Market this Sunday 5th October. It is the first market of the summer season and will run from 9am – 3pm. See you there!